Part 2: A Journey of Separate Hearts – Memories of former Days
At first they couldn't spot where the scream came from, but after stopping and scanning the area around them, Harm and Mac saw an old woman struggling with a young man.
As both could see from their position, this guy was trying to steal the woman's handbag, but she wasn't willing to let it go easily. He tugged on her bag and she did so as well. But finally, because of his height and power, the thief seized it and started running away. On the basis of the sudden lack of counterweight, the old woman lost her balance and fell roughly to the hard ground.
"Stop him, he stole my bag…please can anybody hear and help me? STOP, you bastard!" she shouted. Of course, at this early hour, there weren't many other people around to stop the thief from getting away.
Mac and Harm witnessed all that happened and they immediately knew what to do. Without saying a single word, they ran in the same direction the guy took. When passing the woman, Mac only said: "Stay here, we'll catch this guy!" With this, both quickened their speed and followed the guy. The lady could only nod and watch this well trained pair while they reduced the distance between them and the thief.
As both reached the point where the path divided – one path went over a small hill, the other one led around the hill crossing the first one on the other side – they finally were only a few yards away from him. Harm caught Mac's eye and indicated to her to take the way over the hill while he followed the other one. Mac instinctively knew what he was up to and realized how good it felt to have both of them act like close partners and friends again, knowing and trusting each other absolutely. They parted, but both separately increased their speed even more knowing they could beat this guy and catch him.
The thief had reached the point where both paths met again and to his surprise, Mac was already there and tripped him. He stumbled and didn't see Harm coming. Harm knocked him to the ground and immediately held the thief's hands behind his back so he couldn't move. Mac took the handbag while Harm stood up again and pulled the young man up with him.
Mac took out her cell phone, which she always had with her for emergencies. They called the police and explained everything that happened to the police officer. They returned to the spot where they had left the old woman.
Mac knelt in front of her and asked, "Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Are you able to stand up?" The concern on Mac's face warmed the woman's heart and a thankful smile appeared on her face.
"Thank you, dear, I'm feeling better every second!" she answered Mac, softly patting Mac's cheek. "No, I think, I'm fine – maybe a little unsteady, but I feel better, because you caught this person." She pointed at the thief. "And brought me my handbag back. But honestly, I think I could use your help getting on my feet again. Would you mind…?"
Mac let out a sigh of relief and replied quickly: "Yes, of course. I'm happy that you're not injured and now everything is going to be all right. The police will be here in a few minutes and take this guy to jail." By this time, they heard a police siren and shortly after that, two police officers took 'Harm's and Mac's' prisoner into the police car. After all three made their statements, the police left, but not without the promise to stay in contact and keep them informed about what was happening with the thief.
Finally, the park was quiet again.
"May I introduce myself?" After a while the woman found her voice. "My name is Martha Robin and I can't thank both of you enough!!"
"You're welcome, Mrs. Robin, but we only did what we had to do. We couldn't let this jerk get away with your bag. So we only did our job," Harm replied.
"Call me Martha, please! You mean, your job is it to protect poor old women from thieves and save their lives and property?" she asked grinning.
"Oh no, no, ma'am. I mean…we… I…" stuttered Harm surprised by the teasing question and the grin which became a big smile on Martha's face.
"What my partner is trying to say is, that it's our duty to help where we can and protect our country and every inhabitant. The stuttering guy here is Cmdr. Harmon Rabb, Jr. USN and I'm Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie USMC. But Mac or Sarah will be fine."
"Ahh…now I understand. Nevertheless, what you did was brave and means a lot to me. So thank you very much. I don't know what to do or say to pay you back. Thank you so much, Commander – Sarah…"
"It's Harm, and like Mac said, you're more than welcome and we're happy to help you, Martha. So where do you live, so we can accompany you and help you with these grocery bags?"
"Oh, you don't have to do that, it's only five minutes away from the park and I can handle the bags by myself. So..."
Mac interrupted Martha. "No way, ma'am…I mean, Martha. You've fallen pretty hard and you said you're feeling a little bit unsteady. So let us help you!"
Looking from Mac to Harm and back again Martha knew there was no way she could change the minds of the two younger people and honestly, she enjoyed the company of this handsome looking Navy officer and his beautiful Marine partner. She had watched how they'd acted from the chase until now and she liked what she saw, knowing this was quite a perfect couple.
So she complied. "I guess there's no way out of it. So thank you again!"
They arrived at Martha's house five minutes later like she had promised. After setting the bags on Martha's kitchen counter, Harm and Mac said their good-byes and were leaving the house when Martha stopped them. "Sarah, darling, Harm – please wait. I've got something for you."
They turned to face Martha. "No, Martha, you don't need to give us anything. We're happy we could help, and you being fine, is enough!" Mac spoke.
But Martha cut her off: "No, Sarah, that's not enough! I want to give you a little something at least. It isn't that much. So please take it." She took Mac's hand and placed a small sheet of paper in it. Wondering what Martha had given her, both Harm and Mac looked at the sheet and realized that the paper was a lottery coupon. Catching the curious look on their faces, Martha started to explain it.
"I'm an owner of the local lottery. I know it's not that much, but maybe you two are lucky and will win first prize. This time, a two-week vacation to the most romantic European cities will be raffled. I wrote both of your names on it. Next week we will find out if you're the winners. I know it's kind of wishful thinking, but I wanted to give you something. Oh, and please call me when you have time to spend an evening with me. I want to cook dinner for you two. You will come, won't you?"
"Thank you," Mac and Harm answered in unison. With a slight smile, Mac continued, "Sure, we would be honored. So what's your number? And again, you don't have to do that."
"I know I don't have to, but I want to. Thanks, both of you! I'm looking forward to our dinner and maybe next week you'll win the jackpot!" She laughed and winked at them.
After exchanging phone numbers, they finally left Martha's house.